Blue Ridge Rendezvous

The scenic background of the Blue Ridge Mountains on this clear day made this lookout point a lovely place for a picnic. I'm perched on an outcropping of rocks that had a high enough elevation that the air was thinning, feeling refreshingly cool and clean.  Scraggly trees show evidence of rough winds and harsh weather but, on this particular day, the weather was perfect!

      Chris is ready to share the "pic-a-nic basket" which he offered in his best Yogi Bear voice.

    Chris and I had both been feeling the fatigue of the harvest. He had been processing poultry every chance he got while I had been processing vegetables. When we got the chance (our anniversary seemed a good excuse), we took off for the Blue Ridge Parkway to a northern section we had not yet seen. Trees were at their peak of beauty, weather stayed gorgeous, and we did a whirlwind two-day loop. 

    Near the end of our old Caddy's cruise on that segment of parkway, we headed up Narrow Passage Road off VA state route 43. That drive took us out to where some of the real people live. For all you bikers, I made a mental note that it looked like a great road trip for two wheels, offering plenty of twists, turns, and switchbacks through the mountains on surprisingly smooth pavement.

    We followed that winding route for several miles to Shiloh Drive and the Blue Ridge Winery where homegrown grapes had been turned into wine which evidently flows freely at their frequent parties. We had the opportunity to join the vineyard staff at one of their parties and taste their wines.

    The only bears I saw on this trip:

     Not only did they offer tastes of their wine but they also had a band that played songs of the 80's. The band helped set the tone of their barn party and benches, tables, and occasional haybales allowed plenty of seating for the crowd to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells all around. Smoke drifted into the open barn from a nearby BBQ stand. The food on site came right out of that smoking trailer and tasted so good. Pulled pork sandwiches topped with a sweet BBQ sauce and cole slaw~YUM!!!

 

Eugene, the purveyor of Smokehouse BBQ, had quite an operation going with plenty of hardwood smoke and a hopping business that gave people huge servings of delicious pulled pork or chicken for a most reasonable price.